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Kitchen Nightmares Open or Closed

Watch Kitchen Nightmares and want to see the full episode list? On each post you will find a Kitchen Nightmares episode recaps, updates and information on each restaurant that Chef Gordon Ramsay attempted to turn around. You will find out which Kitchen Nightmares are closed and which are still open on the ultimate Kitchen Nightmares Open or Closed Blog.

Man, what a crazy experience I had on the Fourth of July weekend this summer. I got an email in the late afternoon that Jersey Bites had been invited to a taping of Fox’s Kitchen Nightmares, and that one of the writers would have to attend. I grabbed my wife and jumped in the car, and we sped down to Blackberry’s soul food restaurant in Plainfield so that we would make it in time for the taping of the dinner. Deb, the Executive Editor of Jersey Bites called me on the way and gave me my goal: Get a picture with Chef Gordon Ramsay.

For the uninitiated, Kitchen Nightmare’s is a restaurant reality show on Fox featuring the notoriously foul-mouthed, world-renowned Scottish chef Gordon Ramsay. He is outspoken, and will intensely berate the people who disagree with him or lazy chefs who denigrate his profession. He’s had many shows that were popular in Britain, and most of them involve him yelling and cursing while trying to run a restaurant. On Kitchen Nightmare’s, he goes to a failing restaurant and spends a few days renovating the restaurant, changing up the menus, and generally trying to teach people how they should be running their restaurant should they want it to be successful. The last scene of the episode is always the relaunch dinner, which they normally invite local food writers and media. That’s where New Jersey Nick comes into the story.

Before the Renovation Photo Provided by Blackberry’s

When we arrived at the scene in Plainfield, we were greeted by the producer who went over the proceedings with us and wanted to let people know that they do sincerely want to help rebuild the restaurant and create a community investment in it. We stood on the side of the road and watched as the crane cam filmed a staged parade with a local marching band coming up the street in front of Blackberry’s. It reminded me of the canned parades at Disney World. When they came to the storefront, Chef Ramsay was there and thanked them all for the parade and was generally encouraging to them. It was weird since he’s always portrayed as being so crazed and evil on tv. It was fun to get a first-hand look at the show getting made, and some of the people in the crowd were talking about how this was an important day for Plainfield. Unfortunately, the drama inside the restaurant was so intense during this episode that the whole parade was removed during the editing process!

The Parade That Didn’t Air

If you saw the episode, you no doubt saw that the place went from a very loud color palette seemingly styled after the LA Lakers’ to a more subtle, contemporary style over the course of a few days. One of the patrons, Leonard Williams of Plainfield, told me that he thought the old design was suitable for birthdays and celebrations, but the new setup was very modern and contemporary. When we went into the restaurant, the paint was still sticky from the changes and even the hand-made tables still seemed like fresh plywood. The new artwork on the wall featured large mosaics made of smashed bits of records arranged to look like R&B singers. That was such a brilliant touch I can’t even fathom how someone imagined that.

After the Renovation Photo Provided by Blackberry’s

One bad part about the trip, I was only allowed to take pictures of the exterior of the restaurant and I was told I wasn’t allowed to take pictures inside the restaurant at all. This is obviously because they didn’t want the changes leaked before the show airs. The really bad part: I couldn’t get any pics of the food.

There were two camera crews in the restaurant: one filming the diners and one tailing Gordon. As we sat and discussed the menu, the camera was right in our face and the boom mic hung over our heads. It’s a very weird feeling to know that you’re the subject of someone else’s voyeurism, but it was to be expected, given the circumstances.

We were greeted at our table by the waiter Duane who was the nice guy that was nearly fired by the owner during the aired program. We ordered an appetizer of jerk chicken with pickled watermelon. It took about 20 minutes, and, when it came, it was The jerk chicken was delicious and the watermelon had a burst of flavor and sweetness but also an aftertaste that was like that of regular pickles. It was the strange combo that was unique and completely delicious! They also served us complimentary corn bread with a habanero blackberry sauce. Very unfamiliar but still great flavor. Strangely, it wasn’t hot and didn’t have the usual face-melting heat of the habanero. Even my wife could eat it, and she’s terrified of spicy foods.

Chef Ramsay being nice to people. It’s true, it happened.

The wait before the entrees was ridiculous, but they were filming a TV show, so I’ll forgive them. I can’t imagine that it would be a two-hour wait on a regular evening. Plus while we were waiting for our entrees, Chef Ramsay came over to the table. I mentioned to him how the neighboring table had just remarked how nice he seemed before the taping began. “Well, we all have our days,” he snarkily replied with a slight amount of venom that always coats his words. Of course, he was like this only because he was on camera. When the cameraman turned away, he leaned in and very politely shook my hand, thanking me for coming out on such sort notice. He thanked my wife and called her ‘darling’ as he kissed her cheek. “He called me ‘darling’!”, she squealed. “So what, he called me Nick.

There was a lot more chaos in the dining room than the aired episode dared to show. First, the table in the corner says that their chicken is undercooked, so much so that it was cold. Then, another table freaks out because its been an hour and a half, and still no food. They just want it to go and they want the manager. The camera crew returns to film the conflict and the manager and the waiter are trying to convince them to stay. Meanwhile, I see one of the waitresses talking to the family in the other corner. The mother has a disgusted look on her face and she’s making the waitress SMELL the food. The camera crew spins around to film this too. I don’t know what they did to their meals, but mine was smashing! (As if they’d serve a bad dish to the food writer!)

Photo Provided by Blackberry’s

Almost 2 hours later, at 10 pm, the food finally comes. My wife and I had never had soul food before, so this evening’s meal was a first for us. The entree my wife chose was the Sweet Honey Glazed Chicken Salad, which came with two big slices of watermelon and was topped with a light vinaigrette. It was better than any expectations I could have had, and, even though I hate vinaigrette, I barely noticed it on this salad.

My meal was the Fried Chicken and Waffles with High-grade, Super-sugary syrup. You wouldn’t think that these would go together, but, after having it, I have learned to crave it. It was very tasty, and I’d love some right now if I could get it. The syrup was so good, I wanted to drink it off the plate with a straw! Also, the meal was served with a small cup of honey butter that was thick and had a great flavor. It was sweet and a little salty. In fact, it may have been the best butter I ever had. The whole dish was a heavy meal, and I was ready to take a nap afterward as I had succumbed to what could only be described as ‘the Itis’ (you’re gonna have to Google that one).

Episode Recap

Chef Gordon Ramsay visits Blackberry’s, Plainfield, New Jersey, the owner Shelly was successful in catering so decided to move into owning a restaurant. The place was founded by her mother who invested her retirement fund. Shelly thinks the location and food are perfect but she has no customers. Sous Chef Mateen thinks she is in denial about the food and that she is a control freak and as a result, Shelly is in $200,000 of debt. Gordon arrives and is impressed by the town but not by the bright décor featuring records dangling from the ceiling. Gordon sits down to sample the food and takes a look at the menu. He orders the collard greens, the smothered pork chop, mac and cheese, chitlins, and red velvet cake. Gordon tries the pork and finds it dry, the pasta is mushy, the greens are bland and the chitlins have a funny smell. He spits these straight out and runs to the bathroom and gags/chokes. The meal is not all bad, Gordon thinks Mary’s red velvet cake is delicious. He describes the lunch as embarrassing.

When Gordon returns that evening, he discovers a dead mouse just inside the restaurant’s front door. James, the General Manager, Shelly and Shelly’s fiancée, accuses Chef Ramsay of planting the rodent. Shelly is cooking in the restaurant using only a wok and a pizza oven. The diners are not happy with the good. Gordon calls a team meeting and everyone thinks that Shelly having to be in control is a problem. Dwayne starts to tell his opinions of problems but Shelly tells him to leave. Gordon calls him back and highlights the problem is the lack of communication. Mary is in tears and Shelly promises to solve the problems.

Gordon invests in new equipment for the kitchen and puts Mateen in charge in the kitchen. The restaurant is given a makeover which keeps some of the records from the previous décor. Gordon unveils the new menu with updated soul food classics including barbecued pulled pork sliders and fried chicken and waffles.On relaunch night, Mateen takes charge of the kitchen and the customers love the food. Shelly, however, is not happy to have to give over control of the kitchen and charges out. The relaunch was successful but afterward Shelly refuses to speak to Gordon. Mary gets angry and tells her she is ashamed of her. In the following weeks, Shelly sees the success and starts to embrace the changes at Blackberry’s.

What Happened Next?

The restaurant closed in March 2013, according to Shelly

“I want to say we just no longer saw room for growth. We were so stagnant. We were maintaining, barely, but not able to generate the clientele we wanted,” Withers explained. “I think we gave it 10 good years. We had a wonderful time and are looking on to bigger and better things.”